Well, I get home last night and find a note from my apartment complex stuck on my door. It says that my bike is parked illegally and is a fire hazard where it is because it blocks a the hallway. I think its BS because I keep my bike parked under a stairwell where most people dont even notice it's there. Whats more, when I signed my lease papers 3 months ago, the girl that was going through the papers with me told me it was fine to park it under the stairwell. I'm going to see what the deal is today, but if it turns out like I think it will, I may be having to store my baby outside.
Who around here stores their bike outside? Any tips?

"danger will robinson, danger will robinson. immediate death and dismemberment immenient with such decision." ok maybe not that bad but be careful with storing it outside, there are alot of theiving and mean spirited bastards outthere!

i used to do the same thing, and then some fat lady who doesn't even live inmy building ratted me out, so now it has to stay in the lot, i have a cover, but it is pain to constantly take the cover on and off, when i get home i have to let the pipe cool off then i have to go downstairs to put the cover on, then when i ready to leave i have go down, get the cover off the bike, then go back down again , basically it sucks. Got lazy a few times, and the rain got it, now looking at my chain i realize that i either have to suck it up and try to beat the rain as much as possible or move somewhere with a garage

What sucks even more is that we have one of our entrance lanes to the complex closed because of construction next to us, so they won't close the gates
But I already have a cover and the biggest cable lock kryptonite makes, plus if I have to park it outside it'll stay on the sidewalk next to my window chained to a post.
I'm a little worried about theft, but I've got insurance to cover it, so should someone abduct my baby, I'll at least be covered. The most immediate concern I have is what damage the rain could do to my electronics and any other part of the bike. We're in the middle of the rainy season in SWFL, so it rains every day in the afternoon.

i leave my bike outside in the rain i have a cover but it's a pain so i don't use it much. I try to keep everything i think can rust oiled. i have no rust on my chain. the fairing stay bracket seems cheesy though i think it's defi going to start rusting soon. i'd love to get one made out of aluminum. i don't have to worry about theives here in NH unless you live near the mass line. i prolly should put the cover on more but she seems no worse for the wear.

Yeah, thatís typical apartment complex BS; one day yea, the other day nay. I leave my bike outside all day (because I have to) and its fine, do damage to electrical, plastics, or paint (if you have a good coat of wax on it). It rains a lot here and as of late there are too many little spiders getting too comfortable on my bike, so every morning I have to get rid of all the webs (stupid buggers). Also it gets dirtier a lot quicker (dust, pollen, rain, etc.). Iím not a big fan of covers if you, like I do, use your bike everyday. The constant on-off gets on your nerves.

I spoke with one of the managers of the complex (who just happens to ride an R1), and he told me that they don't care, but I guess they just had the fire marshall come inspect and he's the one who left the note.

i moved down here to an apartment communty in naples from my house in jersey. i had a steel shed to store my bike in up there, now it's out in the parking lot. i bought a cover with protective panels on the inside that allow me to put the cover on the bike without concern for letting it cool down, but it still sux compared to just parking it in a garage. my lease will be up by october and if we don't buy a house by then, then i'll be looking for a place with a garage.
one boy here with a katana kept his bike right next to his apt door, but the new management left him a letter stating that the fire marshal notified thwm that it was a fire hazard and he now parks it in the parking lot with a bike cover. sux for him because he is on the lake-side so he has no direct-view of the bike. i'm on the parkinglot side, so i do have direct-view... but then again, i don't think the katana or zr-7s are high on the 'theft list'.

Originally posted by Stryker20&lt;br /&gt;But I already have a cover and the biggest cable lock kryptonite makes, plus if I have to park it outside it'll stay on the sidewalk next to my window chained to a post.

do you have an alarm (motion sensing i assume would be best)? anything that will give you more warning time to react as someone tampers with the cover and/or lock. the cover i have came with an alarm that sits in a pocket in the cover and attaches to the bike by a lanyard, so if someone were to attempt to remove the cover, it lets out a heckuva scream. added to that we have a parking space that is just large enough for me to share with my cage, making it a bit more of a 'challenge' to get to the bike.

[/quote] The most immediate concern I have is what damage the rain could do to my electronics and any other part of the bike. We're in the middle of the rainy season in SWFL, so it rains every day in the afternoon. [/quote]

well, i have 29k+ miles on my bike and several thousand of those miles are in the rain (8+ hours for my ride home from wv to nj on one trip) and i've not had any electrical issues (knock on wood). plus all the times i've washed it (including a couple of pressure washings at the car wash). the main thing is regular cleanings and waxings. a good coat of wax helps it stay cleaner and spraying all the hard to reach areas and metal parts with wd-40 to keep the water displaced.
as for the chain, keep it lubed regularly with a good chain lube. i still have the original chain on mine.
good luck